shortages at the irs are creating a nightmare scenario here. every tax season is busy, but the irs says the backlog of inprocessed cases is, quote, several times worse that be past years. and centers can t keep up. the irs said it was unable to answer two-thirds of the calls it received last year. two-thirds of the calls they couldn t pick up. processing centers for paper tax returns also hampered by covid cases among staffers. the irs says it needs more money, the tax code is more complicated, the funding is the same. the biden administration wants $80 million more for the irs to hire staff and upgrade technology. that s part of build back better. that s, of course, currently stalled in congress. so what does it mean, brianna, for you and me this tax season? okay. re refund might be delayed so file early. the irs is accepting your tax returns starting january 24th. that s two weeks earlier than last year. it s moved up the beginning of tax season.